A New Day
by kryptoinuyasha
Summary: Set after Fire Across the Galaxy. I had a dream of what happened after the season 1 finale. I blame it on Rebels withdraw, lots of Kanan: The Last Padawan feels, and time spent at Star Wars Weekend (where I still can't get enough). This may be more than a one-shot. Just depends how well the dream fairies will favor me after watching the Siege of Lothal.


_**The smell of ozone and fried circuitry filled Caleb's nose and causes his face to scrunch up at the offensive odor. It was familiar. Something he hadn't been privy to for a while.**_

 _ **A prickle of warning touches the back of his mind. Then the hum of a light saber deflecting blasts jars Caleb awake. As his blurred vision clears, he spies Master Billaba fighting with Commander Grey. He shakes his head with confusion. His sleep addled brain is not seeing this correctly.**_

" _ **Caleb, move!"Master Billaba shouts as she slashes down and relieves Commander Grey of his rifle along with his arm.**_

 _ **Glancing up, Caleb sees Captain Styles lower a blaster, point directly at his head. He immediately throws his hand up and force pushes the Captain back and he goes flying. Jumping to his feet, Caleb activates his light saber taking a stance to cover his masters back.**_

" _ **Why are they doing this?"**_

" _ **I don't know, my padawan, but do what you must to survive! They are attacking to kill, not to capture! At this moment they are no longer our allies or friends!"**_

 _ **More blaster fire ensues and it seems like it's coming from every direction. It is like all the clones have gone mad. They are closing in, and eliminating Caleb's limited maneuvering room. This has him doubting how much longer he can continue deflecting their blasts without injuring his master or himself. Master Billaba is taking down as many clones as she can fighting at a frenzied pace. "I don't understand. Why is this happening again?"**_

' _ **Wait. Why did I say again?' while pondering this, a stray blaster bolt zings by his shoulder. Muddling through his conflicting memories during a fire fight is not the best time to be questioning that now, shifting back, he refocuses on protecting his master.**_

" _ **Caleb, get ready to run!" Master Billaba shouts over the din of continuous blaster fire.**_

 _ **Caleb parries three more blasts. He can feel her fatigue rolling off her in waves. "I won't leave you, Master! We can survive this together!"**_

" _ **Not an option, Kanan!"**_

' _ **Hera?' He swears that he heard her voice in his head.**_

" _ **Caleb Dume, you will follow my orders!"**_

 _ **Shaking off his confusion he responds, "Yes, master!" Caleb's arms are aching and burning with every deflection.**_

" _ **I will be right behind you. Don't stop until you are safe, understood?"**_

" _ **Understood, master!"**_

 _ **The force is building and surrounding them. Master Billaba is gathering it around her, enveloping her. Something he has never felt before.**_

" _ **Survive, Kanan, please." Hera whispers in his ear.**_

' _ **Now I know I'm losing it.' Caleb immediately thinks.**_

" _ **Down, Caleb!"**_

 _ **Without hesitation, he dropped to all fours and Master Billaba unleashes a wave of energy from the surrounding force that emanated outward on all sides towards the clones. The closest clones were sent flying back and rest seemed to be stunned.**_

" _ **Now, RUN!"**_

 _ **Leaping to his feet, he sprints as fast as he can around side of the camp and into the forest behind it. Only stopping when he thinks he is far enough away and taking cover behind a boulder. Then he noticed his master did not follow him as she said she would. He reached out to feel for his master, panic overwhelms him when he feels her still fighting back where he left her. Trying to catch his breath, he peaks over the top of the make shift shield. All that could be made out was his master's light saber as a blur of verdant light. He mentally prepares to run back to help her but his legs won't move. They seem to be frozen to the spot and he noticed his saber hilt vibrating in his shaking grip. Suddenly it all stops, and hears his master's scream. She's falling and then there's a snap in his chest that robs him of the little breath he had recouped. The pain is unbearable, and Caleb knows she is gone. With the braking of their bond, the tears flow down his cheeks at the pain of the loss of his master.**_

 _ **Shuffling of feet jerks him back to the present and observes the traitorous clones are pulling her up to see their handy work. Caleb knows he should be running, doing as his master instructed, but the need to see what happen for himself overrides rational reason. He has to be sure that his master was truly gone and not some false perception caused by his fear. One of the clones pulls on the front of her robes up to get a better look and her head flops back. Instead of seeing Master Billaba's brown hair of loping braids; a pilot's hat and two green head tails with white tattoos fall back in its place. All he can do scream, "NOOOOO!"**_

Grabbing his chest, Kanan bolts awake panting. His heart is racing and is covered in sweat. Glancing around, he sees his door to his room on the Ghost. Trying to get up, he found his leg was pinned down by his favorite pilot. Hera is fast asleep sitting on the floor next to his bunk; half of her is curled up on his mediation stool with her hand grasping his calf. Relief washes over him. ' _She's ok, she's ok'_ , he keeps telling himself over and over as gradually gets hold of is sporadic lungs. Now that he is awake, there is no way he felt he could go back to sleep after that.

He hasn't had dreams like that in long time. Not since Kanan joined Hera on the Ghost _. 'The inquisitor.'_ He thought bring his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. _'I let him snake his way into my mind and relive the past. He was able to pry free my secret. My cowardice. My fear. My failure.'_ Watching Hera snooze with a vice grip on his leg, the nightmare's hold was still fresh in his mind. He vowed to himself, _'I'll never let that happen to you, or to any of them.'_

Kanan noticed that he must have changed into his sleep attire before he passed out. Even his boots and socks were removed, which is something he rarely does. Old habits die hard to make sure one is battle ready. Fighting barefoot isn't the most practical and the metal flooring in the Ghost isn't the most forgiving when running to man a gun turret.

Gently prying Hera's grip loose from his leg, Kanan swings around to get up. His muscles are stiff and his bones creak with every little movement. Stepping around his sleeping Twi'lek, he scoops her up and lays her on his now vacant bunk. She'd end up with a kink in all the wrong places if he let her continue to sleep that way and he's been on the receiving end of Hera's grouchy disposition one too many times when she's had fallen asleep at the helm. He was sure that after things had settled, she would be giving him a dressing down for sacrificing himself to allow her and the others to escape. Hera stirs and curls on her side facing toward him and instinctually grabs his pillow to her chest and snuggles into it. Kanan's heart lurches at the sight of it. _'I'd do it again in a heartbeat.'_ Running his fingertips down the exposed side of her face, he revels at the softness and warmth of her skin.

She turns and presses her face into his palm and murmurs, "Kanan….home…" Hera is clearly exhausted as he feels.

Kanan leans in and touches his forehead to hers. "Shhhh, I'm here. You don't have to worry. Go back to sleep, sweetheart." She smiles dreamily as he presses a light kiss to her cheek. Hera settles back into his pillow with a content look on her face. Standing up, he grabs the extra blanket off the top bunk and drapes it over her.

Strapping back on his blaster belt, he decides to forget about putting back on his boots since it would take too long and might wake Hera. The need to get out of the enclosed space is overriding his common sense. His quarters feel suffocating and he knows it shouldn't, but he couldn't shake panic that was silently taking hold. Silently as he can, he leaves the room and presses the control panel to close his quarter's door. Kanan notices immediately that the Ghost eerily quiet. Not even the constant hums of the engines are present. The Ghost's corridor lighting was set on dim and most of the rooms that could be seen, the lighting was off. Even Chopper wasn't doing any of his normal hallway roaming rounds. The only conclusion he came to is that they must have landed somewhere.

Passing by Zeb and Ezra's room, Kanan stops and rests his hand against their durasteel door. Reaching out, he locates both the Lasat and his padawan fast asleep in their bunks. Through their bond, Kanan assesses Ezra's physical being. The force hums and pulses between them. Their bond has become a comfort and not something he fears or dreads anymore. Kanan feels that their bond has strengthen and grown more than he had thought possible in such a short time since he was captured by the Empire. He could sense Ezra was exhausted from over using the force. Kanan smiled when Ezra reached back through their bond wanting to send more force energy his way to aid his recovery. Even asleep Ezra continued to want to help his master. The once orphaned Loth-rat was maturing quickly into the Jedi Kanan hoped he would become. He couldn't have been prouder of how Ezra handled himself during the rescue. Though, they would be having a discussion about priorities and keeping Hera from doing things that put her at risk of getting captured or killed.

Making his way through the ship, Kanan stops by the galley. He brewed some stim caf and grabbed a meal replacement bar to tame his ever growling stomach. Kanan can't remember the last time he actually ate. For that matter, he didn't know how long he was held prisoner. Being in a windowless cell, time was irrelevant and the pain was endless or at least it felt that way.

As Kanan reached the cargo area, he was greeted by cool breeze of night air. Padding barefoot down the deployed ramp, grassy fields swaying in the night air could be seen for miles. The Ghost was tucked into a cave in what would seem to be a mountain if not for the metal sheeting lining the rocky interior walls. Looking up at the star filled sky he mused to himself, "This doesn't feel like Lothal."

"Because it isn't."

Kanan whips around, nearly dropping his mug of caf. "Who's there?"

"I'm sorry if I startled you, I thought you would have sensed me." Ahsoka fluidly rose from the small hovel in the cave's exterior wall that was hidden from his current view.

"That's ok. I'm not fully recovered yet." He rubbed his hand over his hair to the back of neck trying to deflect his embarrassment.

"Nobody is expecting you to. You've been through something no one should ever have to go through."

Kanan takes a long gulp of his drink to avoid where this conversation is going. He doesn't want relive it just yet, especially after the nightmare he just had. Decidedly, he redirects the conversation. "So, where in the galaxy are we? Or am I allowed to know?" He didn't want to sound bitter, but he hoped it didn't come off that way.

"We are on Dantooine and as I told you before, the protocol has changed." She walked over to where he was standing just outside of the Ghost. "We are looking at this planet as a possible future base. The Jedi had an Enclave here a long time ago and the ruins could possibly be a good foundation for a base. We will go back to Lothal eventually but it is too dangerous to go back there for the moment."

Kanan gaped incredulously, "But Dantooine is 2 cycles from Mustafar…."

"And you were asleep for 3 cycles. You collapsed not too long after I began explaining where the hyperspace coordinates were set for." Ahsoka explained.

Kanan was truly taken aback. "I….I…..I don't remember any of that. Everything is fuzzy after you explained we were part of other cells in the rebellion." His world seemed to till on an axis and he was beginning to sway. He grabbed hold of outer wall of the Ghost to steady himself.

Ahsoka takes a step toward him warily, unsure of his ability to keep upright. Kanan glanced at her knowing her intent and shook his head negatively. She respected his unspoken wishes and backed up marginally. "I knew it would take some time for you to recover from your extended stay with the Empire. Hera took charge and we took you to your quarters. She dressed your wounds and removed your armor with Ezra's help. She wouldn't leave your side, no matter how much we tried to convince her to take care of herself. She cares for you deeply, as does the rest of the crew. So, Sabine and Zeb made sure she took care of herself as she cared for you. Ezra and I took turns using the force to help you heal. He was just as determined to make sure you were ok."

Pride swelled in Kanan at his adopted family. He cleared his throat, "They didn't need to worry so much. I've come through tougher scrapes."

She shook her head at his bravado. "Hera disobeyed my orders not to rescue you. It could have gone very wrong, but I greatly under estimated the strength of your abilities and what your crew would go through to get you back. I'm glad we were able to get there in time to help to get you all out of there." She paused to gather her thoughts for a moment, "The alliance we are building is a positive change for all of us. There is strength in numbers and working together is our best chance to defeat the Empire. I hope I can earn your trust."

"Hera trusts you, so I trust you." He looked down into his cup like it held all the answers.

"I sense a 'but' in there." She smiled at him.

Kanan glanced at the curved hilts of the lightsabres hanging from her waist. He was strangely feeling a little exposed without his own on him at the moment. "I'm just not sure I want to involve myself or the others in another war. But I do have some questions."

"As I imagine you would have." Taking a seat on the Ghost's open ramp, she gestured to Kanan to have a seat. "What is it you would like to know?"

Hesitantly, Kanan sat down a little ways away from her. "I've spent a good portion of my life hiding who I was. Are you also a Jedi?"

"I was. I left the order about a year before the empire came into being." She had a wistful expression on her face, like she was remembering fond memories. "I was accused of murdering a Republic prisoner. I had been framed but there wasn't any evidence to prove my innocence. The Republic Senate wanted me to be tried in their court. I was a Jedi and subject to a trial by the Counsel, but the Senate was convinced that they would be lenient to one of their own. Since the Jedi Counsel was under a lot of pressure to release me and there was damning evidence that I committed the crime, they expelled me from the order and handed me over for trial."

Kanan was shocked at her honesty. He remembered that there was a Jedi that was expelled around that time. Rumors had run through the Jedi temple like wild fire. "But I heard they accepted you back."

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, they did, but only after my master found the real murderer and I was exonerated of the crime. I did not come back because they didn't believe me. Believe in me. Everything I'd been taught and believed in myself, came into question. I had to figure things out on my own. It was my choice. Do you mind me asking who told you about me?"

"Other younglings at the time overheard things mostly. My master mentioned you in a lesson. She thought the counsel was wrong for expelling you even if they thought their hands were tied. She wasn't on the Counsel then, but I'm sure she would have defended you."

Smiling, Ahsoka asked, "So, who was your master?"

"Master Depa Billaba. I was her padawan for only a short time." Kanan grimaced and felt shame in stating the last fact.

"It doesn't matter how long we were at our masters' sides as padawans, they are our masters for our entire lives, even after they have joined with the force." Ahsoka told him in a reassuring tone.

A fact had just dawned on him. "So, you haven't finished your training either?"

"Well, if I had returned to the order they told me that I would have been knighted. They considered everything that I had gone through as my great trail for becoming a knight. Even if I had returned I don't think I would have accepted the title. I know my master was disappointed that I didn't return to the order but he understood why."

"Who was your master? Master Billaba didn't tell me that."

"My master was Anakin Skywalker." Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, looking up at Dantooine's twin moons. "I had heard he was one of the first to fall after the order was given."

Kanan's mouth gapped open, not knowing what to say. Master Skywalker was one of the best and most well known around the temple besides Master Kenobi. For him to be killed when Order 66 was given there wasn't really any chance for any of them to survive. "How…."

"Did I survive?" She finished his question for him. "I wasn't on Coresant at the time and I still had a few friends outside of the order that helped me hide and survive."

Kanan nodded thoughtfully. "Good and true friends are hard to find and are in short supply."

Ahsoka tilted her head looking at him, "But you found a good friend and companion in Hera. She cares for you so much that she would have died for you in order for you to live."

Looking panicked at her observation about Hera and him, Kanan covered, "Sorry, I didn't realize I said that out loud. Hera is a good friend but only a friend."

"Calm yourself, Kanan. I know your relationship with Hera is…complicated. I'm not here to judge. Not everything we learned at the Jedi Temple I agree with and attachment is one of them." It was Ahsoka's turn to grimace. "Attachment is natural. I think it keeps us a little grounded. As long as we don't let our attachment and our feelings associated with it rule us and our decisions, I think it is alright. "

He let out a sigh of relief. "Like taking on an Imperil Fleet of Star Destroyers to rescue a lone crew member?" Kanan said with a raised eyebrow and a quirk to his lip.

Returning a smirk, "Exactly. The teachings should have been more focused on emotional control than suppressing natural ingrained need to connect and attach with someone else. Master and padawan bonds were not forbidden, so why would other relationships or attachments be? Speaking of padawans, yours had a big influence on Hera's and crews' decision to rescue you." Ahsoka admonished teasingly.

Kanan held up his hands in defense, trying not to laugh. "Ezra can be stubborn and tenacious as a Loth-cat. It can't be helped."

She just shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully at his response.

Kanan's smile faded. "Ezra has had a tough life. His parents were taken by the Empire when he was seven and had been on his own until he joined us. He didn't even know he was force sensitive." Taking a thoughtful sip of his forgotten caf. "About what you said about attachment, I think Ezra is afraid of losing any of us to Empire like his parents. My training is so incomplete when it comes to things like this. Can you help me train Ezra?" Kanan looked to her expectantly.

Ahsoka took a plaintive breath, "I will help you with what I can but he is your padawan. You are his master. Your bond with him is strong. I've felt it and it gives me hope. He is going to look to you for answers for his questions and teachings."

Kanan felt his heart sink. He felt like he was pleading but Ezra deserved more than he could give. "Then teach me and in turn I will teach him. I don't want to fail him."

Ahsoka placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "I told you I would help you both and you won't fail him. Have faith it yourself, Kanan. I know Hera does. I can see and feel that Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra do as well. Believe and have faith in the force to guide you. You have done a great with Ezra this far." She could sense he was holding back a lot. "If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here. I've seen and done my fair share in my life to not judge what anyone else has or hasn't done. Just know, you are not alone with what you went through. I went through it too."

Kanan nodded and gave her a half smile. "Thank you, ahhh…do you want to be called Fulcrum or Ahsoka? I guess I should have asked that first, huh?" He added sheepishly.

Ahsoka grinned, "You can call me Ahsoka, but out in the field I would prefer you use Fulcrum, Specter one."

"You got it." Kanan hummed.

Ahsoka turned to focus back into the ship and quirked a brow. "Right now you have more pressing matters to attend to. I certain Twi'lek has just woke up to find her patient missing and she doesn't seem to be pleased about it." She stated matter-of-factly.

Kanan racked his hand down his face and rose up from the ramp. "Well then, that will be my queue to go take my tongue lashing like a man and possibly throw myself at her feet and beg for mercy. It might work, but then again she might sentence me to cleaning the exhaust vents for the next decade." With a quick wink, he turned and headed slowly back into the Ghost.

"Good luck. May the force be with you." She called after him. Ahsoka shuddered at the wave of emotions coming from the rebel ship and whispered under her breath, "You are going to need it my friend."


End file.
